Saint
Martin of Tours has been part of Europe's collective memory
since the fourth century. A tireless traveller around Europe
for his entire life, this European ahead of his time, who
symbolises the universal value of sharing, was born in 316
in Pannonia, now Hungary, to pagan parents. Having been
raised in Pavia, Italy, where his father served in the Roman
army, he himself was enrolled in the army at the age of
about fifteen. In 337, while stationed in Amiens, France,
he cut his cloak in two to give half to a poor man who was
dying of cold. His faith was then revealed to him and he
became a Christian. Living as a hermit near Poitiers, he
established a monastery in Ligugé, the first in the Western
world. He became a bishop in 371; he founded the abbey of
Marmoutier and the first rural churches in Gaul, while travelling
extensively throughout part of Europe. Saint Martin died
on 8 November 397 in Candes and was buried on 11 November
in Tours.

Dates and countries

Incorporated into the programme "The Council of Europe Cultural
Routes": 2005

The
Saint Martin of Tours European Cultural Route links many
European towns which were part of the life of Saint Martin,
as well as those with a significant architectural heritage
linked to his veneration (thousands of monuments are dedicated
to him, including fourteen European cathedrals).

These sites also have an intangible heritage (legends, traditions,
folklore) that is still very much alive. The towns and the
regions participating in this cultural route make it possible
to rediscover a key, long-forgotten cultural heritage. Vectors
of cultural, social, sustainable and committed tourism,
the saint Martin Route relates episodes from his life: Via
sancti Martini (2 500 km), Szombathely his childhood town
in Hungary to Tours, Via caesaraugustana (1 100 km, where
he attended a council, Via treverorum (1 100 km), where
he went several times to meet the emperors and Via trajectensis
(1 100 km). The Saint Martin Route symbolises the value
of sharing.